Sen. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland announced Thursday that he will run against Chuck Schumer for Senate majority leader, setting up a fight for control of the new Democratic Senate before it even takes office.
“In this election, Americans called on us to unrig an economy rigged against working people & fueled by political corruption,” Van Hollen wrote on X. “To deliver, we need new leadership. This isn’t about any one person – it’s about answering that call. That’s why I’m running for Senate Majority Leader.” The post had drawn more than 2 million views by early Friday.
On Monday, Van Hollen had only said he had not “closed the door.” Now he is in, and Senate Democrats will settle it by secret ballot on Dec. 1, Axios reported.
Schumer says he has the votes
Schumer answered within minutes on X. “I have the votes to continue serving as Democratic Leader,” he wrote, calling “55 seats and counting” an “amazing result.”
Van Hollen admitted in a TV interview that he is the “underdog” but claimed he has “more than 10” senators on his side, according to Axios. At least six incoming senators have said they will not back Schumer: Abdul El-Sayed of Michigan, Adam Hamilton of Kansas, Julia Stratton of Illinois, Peggy Flanagan of Minnesota, Troy Jackson of Maine and Annie Andrews of South Carolina. El-Sayed endorsed Van Hollen as soon as he entered.
Schumer has more public backing for now. Axios listed Sens. John Fetterman, Ruben Gallego, Kirsten Gillibrand, Mark Kelly, Jacky Rosen, Brian Schatz and Sheldon Whitehouse, independent Angus King and Sen.-elect Sherrod Brown among his supporters.
Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., said Tuesday that “the time is now for change.” Progressives have accused Schumer of not fighting hard enough against President Trump.
Who Van Hollen is
Van Hollen has been in Congress since 2003 and in the Senate since 2017. He is best known to conservatives for flying to El Salvador in April 2025 to meet Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the Salvadoran man the Trump administration deported and said was an MS-13 member, a charge Abrego Garcia denied.
The push to draft him came from the progressive group Indivisible, whose co-executive director, Ezra Levin, said earlier this week that Van Hollen could win if there was “sufficient public demand.”
The bottom line
Democrats won the Senate 10 days ago, and six of their own incoming senators are already refusing to back the man who led them there. Schumer has promised to “entangle” the President “in legislative razor wire.” Van Hollen’s case against him is that he has not fought hard enough. Neither man is running on cooperation with the White House or on lower spending.
The new members matter most here. Senators who have not yet cast a single vote are deciding the leadership of the chamber before they are sworn in, and the group that drafted the challenger is an activist organization built to fight this President. Whoever wins on Dec. 1 will owe that wing of the party.
Senate Republicans should plan for a majority that answers to its left flank on confirmations, spending and any impeachment trial. The best response is to force recorded votes on border security, taxes and public safety early and often, so voters can see where every one of those new senators stands.